Since the last post...

We've had a lot going on since the last post.  Lots of good things and things that have tested our patience.  Ultimately, though we've been reminded of how blessed we are and how faithful God is to provide for our needs.  Here are the high points

fresh eggs - breakfast for the morning

We've become the stewards of 8 Rhode Island Red chickens (pictures to follow) which provide us with daily eggs and a lot of entertainment.  They are gentle, friendly, and very curious.

Within the next two weeks we should take ownership of 16.5 acres of wooded land at which point we'll begin to observe and interact with the property to form a whole systems plan.  We hope to build a little cabin in the woods this summer and make the move to simple country living (VERY simple) within the next two to three years.  Once we live on site, following our permaculture design will be much more feasible.

The early crops are in in the garden, and the seeds are all laid out with planting dates (weather and freak frost permitting).  We've added a few new raised beds and with the addition of our acreage we'll be growing more than ever.

young broccoli ready to plant out

peach tree, grape vine and elderberry

This afternoon we received a box from Stark Bros. Nursery with the beginning stock for a food forest planting we'll be undertaking on the property: two apple trees, a peach, hardy Issai kiwi vine, three grape vines, blueberry and elderberry bushes.  We also visited an Amish produce auction and picked up 24 heritage raspberry plants (at the delightful price of $1.00 per pot)  We had a chance to visit several Amish families in the area and chat with them about how they live simply in their communities while surrounded by a culture that has vastly different values.  It was a great trip and the first of many to their community:  We've got a lot to learn.

A lot more has happened - including lessons on how no matter how willing a seller and buyer are to do a land deal, everyone from lawyers to bankers to the people who have to permit EVERYTHING under the sun have to have their pieces of the pie cut just how they like them.  We've been reminded over an over again to honor our kids in the way we make this huge culture transition from the world we live in to the world we hope to live in.  It's not easy for anyone to make a paradigm shift and we want to respect our children as we lead the family in a new direction.  Perhaps the greatest shift has happened as we've begun to homeschool our two oldest children (the youngest tags along for as much of it as a one-and-a-half-year-old can manage).  It was the next logical step really as we work to do more life together.  We've got a long transition ahead of us - ultimately we hope to see our homestead grow into a place to live and a place to provide our livelihood.  Tag along for the ride...I'll post when the spirit inspires me.

LAND!

We finally found the perfect tract of land.  It has everything we need and we're hoping to put in an offer soon! 

13 skills challenge

Several months ago, I was listening to a podcast by Paul Wheaton who (regardless of how you feel about him personally) knows an awful lot about permaculture.  He kept referencing the name Jack Spirko in his podcasts from time to time, so I eventually googled the name and discovered a community built around Jack's podcast: The Survival Podcast or TSP.  In addition to being a voice for permaculture and homesteading, Jack provides a libertarian perspective on the happenings of the day, and does a lot to promote his philosophy of modern survivalism.  One aspect of his philosophy that grabbed my attention about a month ago was the 13 in 13 challenge.  This was a challenge Jack issued to his listeners to better their lives by learning 13 new skills in 2013.  I am a latecomer to the challenge, and I strongly doubt that I'll master all 13 of my goals before the new year, but I'm excited to track my progress and build my skill set.  The idea isn't to prepare for the apocalypse and total collapse of our civilization; it's simply to live a better life that is less dependent on the system in which we currently live.  I'll be blogging my progress on each skill here and hopefully be finished sometime in 2014.

Fall has arrived!

So, I've taken a short break to post on the fall happenings on our suburban homestead.  Right now I'm growing patience, kale, spinach, cabbage, turnips, patience, rutabaga, collards, snow peas and more patience.  We're still hoping to move, and we crossed a few more properties off the list this weekend.  

Now it's all about living in the moment and building our permaculture

Back again...

Random Updates to the Simple Life:

• We still live on .08 acres having had 26 acres bought out literally from underneath us by having someone else see us checking out the land, realize it must be for sale (though it wasn't on the market), and then insta-calling the seller and making an identical offer to ours a few hours before we had ours ready to submit.  Frustrating - but praying for contentment in our situation.  We've decided to wholeheartedly live where we are right now rather than waiting to start living until we arrive at our "dream property" sometime in the future.  
• We're learning to use permaculture principles on a small scale
• I'm working through a PDC right now, and implementing as much as I can before completing a full on design to our property.
• Rabbits as a meat source are on the horizon
• Our family is stronger than ever, having come through 6 months of impatience being changed to patience, hope giving way to trust, and a growing realization that we really are on a course to a better future as we simplify and break away from so many of the mirages that American culture says are "normal"

Right now I am sitting at my desk at school planning out a math lesson.  I for a long time this spring, a robin has attempted to breach the window of my classroom by repeatedly launching himself at the glass ALL day long.  He was just joined by another robin doing the same thing at the other window.  I'm contemplating letting them in, but then I think they'd be trapped and I don't want them to get hurt.  I guess I'll enjoy the company and pray the don't get hurt.

Alright,
It's Wednesday.  Last night I put a few more plants in my garden, and started to harvest the last of the Spinach from my winter garden.  It's started to bolt in the recent heat, and I have a feeling that when I get home from school today it will be time to pull out the rest of it.  Which is ok, because that means I can get my beets, turnips, and other root crops in and growing.

Monday, I tried something I've never done before - I made dandelion root coffee.  I've known for awhile now about chicory coffee (both New Orleans style which is 50% chicory and 50% coffee) as well as straight chicory (not coffee) in the style of a starving southern family circa 1860.  I watched the video (embedded below) and promptly gave it a try.  Who knew?

I have currently run out of dandelions in my yard and I'm leery of harvesting elsewhere unless I can verify that no chemicals have been used on the lawn...maybe it's time to start cultivating them just for the root?  Maybe a raised bed of dandelions?